Five Frugal Things | $125 from Equifax, a library book from Florida...
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1. I claimed my $125 from Equifax.
I looked my info up on their eligibility checker and yep, my data was part of the breach.
So, I filled out the info and a $125 check should be on its way to me.
(You can choose a check if you have credit monitoring already, and since I have it free through Credit Karma, I was able to choose the check option.)
2. I helped Sonia and her cousin make an apron out of a sheet.
I'd picked a white sheet up at Goodwill years ago because it had a fun eyelet trim and I thought it would be useful for making a dress.
But I never got around to it.
Luckily, it came in handy now since the girls wanted to use a vintage pattern to make an apron. We didn't have any fabric sitting around except this sheet, and it turned out to be the perfect amount.
It turned out to be a slightly complicated pattern, considering it was just an apron! But we made it through.
And it'll definitely be easier the next time we make one (this one went home with the cousin, so Sonia still wants to make one for herself.)
3. I paid our car insurance bill in its entirety.
It's a painful bill, but it IS a little cheaper if you pay it annually vs. monthly. So, that's what we opt for.
Of course, I used our Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card to pay the bill (hello, free flights!) and then I immediately made a payment to the credit card from our checking account.
(Here's a post I wrote about the Southwest card.)
4. I got a library book from Florida. (!)
I saw an article referencing the book Raising Humans in a Digital World, and my library didn't have it. So, I put in a request (I thought I was requesting that they buy one), and they got me a copy from a Florida library.
I'm not sure how this is more cost effective than them just buying a copy of their own, but it IS frugal for me.
5. I...
...planned a menu, renewed my library books online, sent leftovers with Mr. FG to work, and ate some more beets from my Hungry Harvest box.
(I still have three more beets to eat!)
You might not want to count on that check from Equifax...
JD talks about it in this post. https://www.getrichslowly.org/equifax-settlement/
We opted for the 10 yrs of all 3 bureaus plus 6 years of Equifax credit monitering, even though we have credit monitoring due to the BCBS hack a few years ago since that one isn't guaranteed to go on for many more years.
My understanding is that the $125 figure is part of a class-action settlement that's been PROPOSED to a federal court. Nothing has been decided; Equifax has not even been found guilty of wrongdoing.
Good thing I wasn't planning to pay my mortgage with that check! Heh. We shall see what happens.
It doesn't matter that Equifax hasn't been found guilty of wrongdoing. In fact, they never will. They agreed to pay up on the condition that they're not admitting guilt. It'd be extraordinarily unusual for the Court to reject the settlement, especially given how much money Equifax is ponying up - no questions about whether the settlement pool is too small to be equitable.
It is true you may not get $125 - it depends on how many people sign up for payment.
1. Those couple of free tubes of toothpaste I talked about getting last week morphed into 100 free tubes by the end of the week. By stacking coupons I actually got not only free toothpaste but earned about $30 back in cash. All extra tooth paste will be donated to our church’s back to school backpack give away.
2. Was in charge of a work fundraiser over the weekend. Lots of extra food I got to take home.
3. Didn’t buy anything other than food at the grocery store this week.
4. Enjoying time with friends doing free or low cost things.
5. Looking ahead to try and spread out some major purchases so they don’t hit us all at once.
1. Scheduled a pickup by my favorite charity. I like how I do it now so much better than in the past. Before, I would collect eight or ten big trash bags of stuff, dump it all out on the living room floor, and enter everything into the TurboTax It’sDeductible form at once. It made for an exhausting several hours. Now when I collect something around the house that one of my kids has outgrown or I don’t need anymore, I enter it into the worksheet right away. And since I don’t procrastinate like I did before, I schedule a pickup when I’ve collected just two or three bags. I wish I’d done it this way all along.
2. Went on two day-long college tours arranged by my daughter’s high school’s guidance office, visiting two colleges on each visit. They were long and tiring days but my family learned so much about all four schools. And they were only $10 each for my whole family. We would’ve spent so much more in gas money, not to mention the time spent planning, had we done these on our own.
3. At the second college on the second day, I won a T-shirt. The recruiter said at the beginning of his presentation that he’d give out a shirt at then end to the first person who answered each of his questions about what he’d presented. I was tired and hot but I paid much closer attention once he said that!
4. Found two dimes on the floor at Wawa. I think I find at least one coin when I go there more often than not.
5. My daughter came home from her running practice with two cucumbers. Her coach had too many from his garden and was giving them away.
1-I have been loading up on lunch box snacks in preparation for back to school..The back to school and majority of the fall are just SO overwhelmingly busy, prepackaged individual portions is my sanity saver.. and for some reason this time in July they are killer inexpensive, have Ibotta rebates and coupons are everywhere! I have threatened to chop off fingers if I see any of these packages opened( all on the top shelf of the pantry!)
2.-Put the girls 2nd summer reading assignment book on hold at the library...
3- bought baby shower gifts at a local Amazon resale shop! They have a room full of brand new clothing and every few weeks have a $2.00 sale to thin it out.. I bought for 2 people and was able to get about $80 worth of original priced baby pieces for $16!
4- walked out of the first floral shop! I wanted to get my mom a floral arrangement for her birthday... something more than the grocery store.. but the local family farm stand was closed.. I went to a larger local shop and I could NOT believe the prices on her arrangements.. the only loose she had was roses and carnations too.I was honest that I had not bought flowers in a LONG time but it was pricier than I thought and left... I went to another shop I have not been to in many moons and the lady asked my price range and when I said $20 the piece she created blew my mind!! Shop local
5.-got free peaches! The peach truck came through and my mom and boys went to grab us a box.. and they were OUT! I was complaining to my friend who was sitting next to me at the VB match and she said I could have the 2nd half of her box cause they were not going to finish them and she had no time to process them! We ate a bunch and froze the rest!
Thanks for the Equifax link. I've been meaning to check my eligibility, but hadn't before this morning. My info qualifies. I already have credit monitoring from other breaches, so I was able to pick the cash option.
I love the apron! It's so pretty.
1. I don't have credit monitoring, so I chose that option instead of cash. I consider that frugal.
2. I hired a yard crew since my husband can't mow now, and I sure don't have time, what with a long commute, 40+ hours a week job and a husband to take care of evenings and weekends. They came the first two times then stopped and I couldn't reach them. I persisted, and was responded to by their embarrassed dad and older sister (the lawn guys are young teen brothers) who came and mowed, and offered to do for free a task that the yard boys were going to charge me for (haul off some old metal pieces to the scrapyard) since I had been let down on the mowing. I can imagine the lecture those boys got. I was told they overloaded themselves in scheduling.
3. I got more canned cat food on the clearance sale. The cat loves it, and is eating better since it's soft and he's losing teeth in his old age. I love the clearance price on food that won't expire until next year.
4. Note on teeth -- take care of yours! That's always frugal.
5. I am fighting the battle of getting hospital bills paid between Medicare and the VA. It's an experience, but I have to do it to avoid being out thousands of dollars.
1. I checked the Equifax eligibility and I didn't qualify but my husband did!
2. After tornadoes came near our area and we spent a couple hours in the basement, I started looking for something to sit on down there. I found a an antique wood framed couch that had been reupholstered at the thrift shop for .09 plus .01 tax. One thin dime! I used the shop vac, cleaned the wood really well and laundered all the seat covers. We now have a comfortable, easily checked for spiders couch for the next tornado watch!
3. I stopped in to use a coupon at Christopher and Banks last week. I bought a cute tshirt for 6.99 and have 10.00 to use next week. The fall stuff is really cute but I made myself check my off season closet to assure myself there were nothing I need. A good practice when tempted!
4. Eating lots of garden produce with a protein and salad for dinners. Our grocery bill has been insanely low.
5. I helped my long time hairdresser at her daughter's graduation party. She sent home a huge amount of pork and took an amount off my perm and haircut last week. Nice bonus!
1. I got a ton of new books from the library rather than Amazon
2. My daughter needed new tap shoes and rather than buy new I put out a request on our local resale facebook page. Someone had a pair in the right size and color so I only had to spend $10 on them!
3. I sold a brand new Amazon fire stick that my husband got free from work. It was just sitting in the cupboard and we weren't using it so instead we made $20 off it
4. With no menu plan and getting late I scrounged around the pantry and came up with dinner two nights in a row instead of takeout.
5. The biggest one: I'm on my last two days of a self imposed "no buy July." I've spent the entire month without purchasing anything (other than the used tap shoes and a pair of used jeans for my daughter that she needed for school anyway). The entire month I've only bought consumable products like food and toiletries. The great thing is that it's changed my outlook and there's very little I've set aside this month that I'll get after July is done. Right now just some new dishtowels to replace the stained and worn ones I have now and the lekue cover that was on here last week!
Have you tried roasting the beets? They're sweet like that and I like them cold in a salad, especially Cobb. (My daughter, the eater of ALL veggies, does not like beets! She says they taste like dirt!)
Yes! That's what I did for two of mine, and I ate them in a salad. Very tolerable.
Ha! I have been trying to like beets but I think they taste like dirt, too! When I tried roasting them - roasted dirt! 🙂
Choldnik (chilled beet and buttermilk soup) is a delicious way to eat beets in the summer! It is my favorite cold soup. With the buttermilk and dill, it might cut the beets enough that you really enjoy it.
1. I got a nice amount of produce given to me from a friend. Tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, and potatoes. I used my quick process method to get all of it in the freezer that we wouldn't use the next week or so. I was done within an hour so that was perfect considering how much I had to put up.
2. I sold several things on Facebook marketplace for my mother and myself totaling $160.
3. I found my daughter two brand new sports bras, some shelf paper, a set of nice hot rollers at a yardsale for $3. The bras were only 25 cents. I was going to have to buy to the bras as part of my back to school purchases so this was a win!
4. I bought an older china cabinet and buffet from a friend for $100 then brought it home an painted with paint I already had. It looks really nice. I also got a dining room table from my mom's old house because the ceiling is falling in. I painted it to match. I bought some nice thick upholstery fabric to cover my chairs from my mom that she got at a yardsale and never used. I got a staple gun from Lowe's to cover the chairs using part of my $45 rebate card for buying paint the past few months. New-to-me, quality wood dining room set for $100 and a bit of work..yep, I'm happy.
5. I got the last of the kids school supply list taken care of as it was tax free weekend in my area.
Sorry for the run ons and typos. I'm typing in a hurry but that is really just an excuse as I talk with run ons and errors daily, lol.
1. Found thrift store that benefits cleft palate babies. Taking all my stuff there. Got 2.00 oil painting....landscape from them. Very restful to look at. 2. Planting cheap day lilies from company called Wild. They are in Missouri. I got unusual ones they were discontinuing. 3. Bought lovely blouse and pants at Am Vets store in Tucker, Ga. .lots of teens there buying back to school. 4. Got a large metal basket 10.00 to hold and organize garden hand tools. 5. Got 40 cent small rolling pin for puff dough when I break 6 eggs on it, salt,pepper, green onion, and shredded cheese 400 degrees for 10 minutes....breakfast for me and neighbors doing our summer chores.
I had a $20 coupon for Victoria Secret. I needed a sport bra so I decided to check them out. I got TWO Victoria Secret sports bras for $1.00!!!!
1.) Bought three Blu-rays I wanted during the semi-annual Criterion sale at Barnes and Noble. I used my membership for an extra 10% off.
2.) Did the Equifax thing as well and ended up with the free credit monitoring. I didn't expect to get the $125 so now I have free monitoring. Oh well.
3.) Set up some deal alerts on hard drives as I'll be buying a new backup solution and it's always a good idea to pay the least.
4.) Back to school time so I bought four boxes of Crayolas at Walmart for 50 cents a box! These are for my church's nursery as theirs possibly came over on the ark and just aren't cutting it.
5.) Kind of a frugal quandary here: Someone stole my recycling bin. It's a weird thing to steal but it went out to the curb, the garbage man emptied it and it disappeared. So I now need to purchase a new one. It was part of a matching set from IKEA and I'm debating taking the trip to the land of endless furniture
Check with your neighbor... they accidentally took ours and returned it
5 Frugal Things:
1. Applied for my $125 from Equifax
2. Propagated my indoor plants
3. Bought six succulent pots on sale and saved $16 total
4. Painted a white rusted lantern in black spray paint for my outdoor garden
5. Saved my orchids from dying by moving them outdoors and feeding them...so happy
I can answer your library question about Florida books and frugality. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is super frugal! Do libraries have to pay to ship books? Yes, but only one way. So we may pay a fee to get your book (some libraries only ILL with other libraries that do not charge fees) and we may pay to send it back. Even if that total cost is $30.00 and you can buy the book on Amazon for $15.00 it is still worth it because the library is not paying to process and then house an item that may or may not be checked out again, and then weed it once it is no longer a useful part of the collection. They can spend the bulk of dollars on items they know will check out and rely on another library to have what they do not buy. Odds are your library has items that Florida library does not and they can ILL with your library and that helps to mitigate their costs because they didn't have to buy and house a book in their collection.
Libraries also set up consortiums that agree to lend to each other at no cost and in the case of some consortiums, there is a driver who picks up and delivers all for the fee of entering into the consortium. One that my library is a part of is a mix of academic, public, and special libraries -which is awesome because the law library I work for has seen a rise in interdisciplinary subject areas and we can draw on the resources of other collections. In short, it might be pricier for an individual item, but it all comes out in the wash.
So interesting! Thanks for sharing all that.
Thanks for the Equifax link. I qualifed. I think it depends on how many people make claims as to the amount, but any amount is a plus.
Just FYI, the odds of receiving the full $125 from Equifax is low. They’ve set aside a finite amount of money and if a million people make a claim your portion of that settlement is actually only $31. If 147 million people make a claim you’ll end up with $0.21. Any money is always great but in this case the free credit monitoring is a better option.
Yeah, it does look like the odds of getting $125 are awfully low! We shall see.
1. We have oil heat and it's usually cheaper this time of year. It is this year so I scheduled an oil delivery even though we have half a tank of oil.
2. Meals have been at home. I gave extra fruit to a friend and they gave me surplus garden vegetables.
3. A friend invited me to swim in her pool. It felt great on a hot day.
4. I am reading ebooks borrowed from the library and always have a book on CD going in my car.
5. I paid our semi-annual auto insurance bill online, using our Southwest credit card.
1. From yesterday but totally awesome. Son wanted a specific bike from target and we agreed to go halvies. It was $239 for full price last month. I made him wait and when we went in to see if they had anymore in stock all bikes were 10% off. They didn’t have one assembled and it took them 45 mins to find and assemble one they had in the back. Since we had to wait they gave us an additional 10% off. And with my target card 5% off we got the bike for under $200. (Less than 100 for parent part).
2. Have a ton of oranges from the last two misfits boxes. Bought canning jars and thrift store and then lids from grocery store and we are going to make orange marmalade for Christmas gifts.
3. Ate lunch at home instead of hitting up fast food while running errands.
4. I have several pairs of old jeans we are going to make into headbands and potholders for Christmas gifts.
5.I have been eying reusable produce bags on Amazon and decided to make our own instead. My MIL shipped us some items and as part of the packing she cut in half what appears to be a new white tee shirt. I have been racking my brain on what to do with it and figured it would be perfect for my new bags.
1. Claimed $125 from Equinox (thanks for the tip/link)
2. My garden produced huge cucumbers! We ate some and pickled some. I grew the cucumbers from seeds purchased last year (maybe $2.99) and used our compost to fill out our pre-existing bed. Meaning I did not spend any actual money planting my garden this season!
3. Received a thank you type of gift card from work for Bonefish Grill. We used it for a nice dinner out.
1). I cut both of my daughters’ hair.
2). Used a gift card from credit card rewards to order school uniforms.
3). One of my daughters earned an amusement park ticket from Girl Scout cookie sales. I bought discount tickets for the rest of us at Wegmans and packed a lunch. I also prepped dinner that morning (pulled pork and corn bread from the freezer and a salad) so it was ready when we got home. We still spent quite a bit of money on the tickets but could have spent way more. We also had an amazing day.
4) Checking out many books, ebooks, and dvds from the library to keep us entertained this summer. Also signing up for many activities and crafts.
5) Made popsicles from left over watermelon before it went bad. Overall working on zero food waste and eating down our freezers (which just seem to keep filling up with odds and ends).
Dehydrated watermelon strips are THE BOMB, in case you need to avoid waste in the future.
I'll have to try this. I haven't made any kind of jerky in a couple of years - I've been too traumatized by ruining a 3 lb batch of beef jerky by not drying it quite enough.
1. Found the perfect long-sleeve linen shirt to expand my summer travel wardrobe, then three matching tops to go under it -- all for $15 (today was 30% off for seniors at Value Village).
2. Saturday was 50% off at another thrift store here: Vinnie's. Got a a saucepan I can use on my induction cooker (set up on my deck so no extra heating of the kitchen!), a pair of Levi Strauss jeans, capris, skirt, and a long-sleeve seersucker shirt, all for $14.
3. Have been picking and canning my berry patches: spicy gooseberry butter, rosie raspberry jam, black raspberry fruit sauce, red raspberry fruit sauce. Sauces are from smoothies, on top of pancakes and waffles, with yogurt, in ice pops, etc. Also harvested all my rhubarb for 14 pints of rhubarb drink concentrate.
4. Bought bread loaves that usually go for $2+, $3+ at regular grocers fro 1.25 each at Dollar Tree.
5. Got a kilogram of turkey loaf ends for $1 -- nice for sandwiches and quesadillas.
Instead of credit monitoring, freeze your credit at the 3 credit bureaus for free...and take the cash instead.
Choldnik (chilled beet and buttermilk soup) is a delicious way to eat beets in the summer! It is my favorite cold soup. With the buttermilk and dill, it might cut the beets enough that you really enjoy it.
1)I got my Equifax claim submitted. I went for the $125 as I have credit monitoring already.
2)I went grocery shopping for the first time in probably 5 weeks, spent $158 for 5 adults and we should be good for another couple of weeks. I even had the stamina to shop, load the car, bring it in the house and put it away. (I haven't done that since last September, so I am slowly getting there).
That is all I can think of today.
I like the apron made out of the sheet. The eyelet border looks lovely. My first two frugal things are two things I have procrastinated on way too long, but now they are on their way to being totally done.
1. I checked into getting our awning over the back deck replaced. The price tag was $800. I went on Ebay and bought marine fabric for about $50. The fabric sat there waiting a long time, but this week I made a pattern for the two hanging sides, and then cut and sewed the awning together. I painted the board it will be attached to as it is easy to paint now without the framework attached to it. My son will help me attach the awning fabric to the frame tomorrow and then we will remount the frame. It is a big project, but look at the difference in cost on this DIY project!
2. I just submitted an appeal to a medical insurance claim that was denied. Kristen your previous experiences with this was my inspiration. I don't know what the result will be, but now I have done my part in this process.
3. I found a cute dress on clearance for $2- new. I didn't even know it was on clearance. I thought it was $12. and was excited with that price.
4. I froze grapes before they went bad, and have put them in smoothies and it tastes quite good. I have thrown away many neglected grapes, unfortunately.
5. I bundled errands yesterday and today as I had a lot of stops to make both days. I checked some prices online before I bougtht a few things, so was able to choose the best place for the best price.
1. Sold 2 Dutc Bros. mugs i found at a yard sale for .99 cents. Sold them for 24.99 on Ebay.
2. My hub and I used a swagbucks gift card to see a movie and used my Regal Club reward points for a free bag of popcorn and snuck in a box of Milk Duds from Dollar Tree. Yes i know that is wrong...lol
3. Harvested beets from the garden and roasted and pickled. Also harvested zuchinni and shredded for the freezer. We make Double chocolate zuchinni bread at Christmas!
4. Found a new in the box set if Oneida baby silverware for .99 cents at Goodwill and giving it to my neice who is expecting next month.
5. Also found for .99 cents at Goodwill a super cute little purple ceramic planter, going to put a houseplant start in it and give it to a friend who invited us to dinner on Friday.
A good week!!!
1) We shopped at a store that has much lower prices but is about 45 minutes away in a different city since we were right by it anyway. Got a bunch of produce for much less than our local stores sell it for and now our fridge is full!
2) Hubby has brought his lunch to work every day this week.
3) We redeemed a T-Mobile Tuesday offer for an extra $0.10 off gas. We've been redeeming this offer every week and filling our tanks at the station at the end of our road weekly even if we don't need to fill up. This way we get gas for much less than normal and the cars are always pretty full! This last week we used it when we were away from town at a station that had a price about $0.10 lower than our in town stations. We we right by the station anyway so we saved extra on gas!
4) I rearranged the freezer to put all of the older meats near the top and newer near the bottom so we'll eat the older stuff first. We have a LOT of chicken breasts we need to eat!
5) Rather than go to a more expensive ice cream place for dessert we grabbed gelato at a grocery store and ate at their tables they have! The friends we were with were happy to have this as our dessert and this particular grocery store has a nice eating area to enjoy.
On a different note, every time I go to your site it auto downloads a .txt file to my computer. I don't think it's done any damage but it's quite worrying. I've still come back but I'm not sure what's going on. It doesn't happen to any other sites I visit so I'm positive it is just your site.
1. Waited ... and waited ... and waited for Batman v Superman and Justice League to be available from the library rather than paying to rent them online.
2. Took a mandatory road trip: 12 hrs each way plus a couple days at the destination. Saved money by taking a lot of produce, snacks, drinks, and sandwich makings. (Mostly) bought gas where it was cheaper. Bought a few things I needed - soup mugs, non-disposable straws - at an outlet mall. Bonus: picked a couple cups of wild berries.
3. Came *this close* to buying a local artist's painting - it was really nice. But the seller couldn't negotiate and the price was just a bit too much so I didn't. Note: the price of the art was the amount I saved by cleaning my organizers rather than buying new. Apparently there are a lot of things in my life that cost $150-$200. ;->
4. Keeping the house on the warm side to save electricity and money. Not cooking much, either; it's really because I don't feel like it, but it also keeps the place cooler.
5. In response to an online complaint about a thoroughly negative experience at a Sweetgreen DIY salad place,[1] the chain offered to buy me a meal. Since my friend walked out on her salad with me, Sweetgreen agreed to buy us both a meal.
[1] Usually I tell the on-site manager if there's a problem rather than complaining after the fact. In this case, the manager was the problem. Well, one of the problems.
1. Participated in a study this weekend with my son- made $225
2. After getting quotes, husband and I decided to replace on own roof- saving us at least $5000
3. $44 spent on groceries this week
4. I liked a farmhouse-style entry way table on Facebook Marketplace listed for $179. My husband made me same one for $35
5. Got promotion at work- extra $4000 yearly
1. Attended our library’s annual
ice cream social and picked up some great used books at their book sale. The bouncy house for the kids was 50 cents a turn and they got free rides on the fire truck. An old family friend was leaving on vacation the next day and hadn’t been able to make it through her box of onions before leaving, so I ended up with two free onions. Everyone went home happy.
2. Eating out of our garden. Chard, basil and zucchini are thriving. It’s so nice to have fresh green things.
3. Went for a weekly walk with a friend - it’s free and we both get in some good exercise and kid free conversation time.
4. Purchased extra things in my Grove order this month to qualify for the extra free gift. The extra gift goes in my Christmas stash, and I can delay subsequent orders until I use up what I bought this time. They are all the same things I usually buy, just in quantity, so I’m not worried about them going to waste.
5. Used my reusable bags, consolidated errands, went through kids clothes and I think needed back to school shopping will be minimal (shoes and maybe a couple of sweatshirts).
I really enjoy this comment section.
- That beet soup looks interesting. I'm pretty consistently in the "beets taste like dirt" camp, but I really want to like them. I'm curious enough to try a recipe I found. I have everything, but the beets. 🙂
- Trying not to get sidetracked with projects, but I am inspired by the refashioning projects.
As for my frugal things... never sure if there are 5.
1) Pretty much stuck to my menu plan. Haven't wasted any food and avoiding convenience foods.
2) Had previously worked through small freezer. Now working through deep freezer.
3) School is starting in a few weeks, and all of mine will go. That hasn't happened in years. I'm working through planning and making larger batches of meals, so my very picky tween/teen eaters can pack their lunches. Beats wasting money on the school lunch that I'm certain they won't eat.
4) School supply shopping for both mine and a community outreach project one of my teens is doing. I don't usually go the super deliberate route, but I have a supplies box started to collect things when there's a great price for something.
5) Used some $5 Bruster's gift cards that had been collecting around here and had a family night out under the stars. I was a little concerned that there might be a monthly fee eating into the balance, but that didn't happen. (I also noticed some other random gift cards in the stash, so will think up fun ways to use them.)
Right? I have the best readers, and they make the comment section a delight.
1. Both kiddos fell asleep in the car at the same time one afternoon so I used the time to check out rummage sales and bought two big bags of boys clothes for only $13.
2. Stayed up late each night this week to finish formatting a Shutterfly book by the end of the month when my coupon for a free one expires. Will order tonight just in time.
3. Have been eating lots of green beans from our garden this week. Yum!
4. Made a homemade card for my nephew’s birthday instead of buying one at the store.
5. Used our zoo pass for a free day of fun with the kids and the grandparents.
We are on vacation but have been trying to keep frugal while we have fun.
1) packed breakfast and lunch on our travel day (it’s 2 flights and 14 hours to get to my parents in laws place).
2) Spent 2x £2 water bottles for my husband and me (kids already have them). Filled them up after security at the airport and have been using them everywhere. So far just had to buy water once at Lisbon airport where we changed flights (no water fountain there). Saving cash and plastic use.
3) I used credit card reward vouchers to order beach shoes for the kids but when we collected them they were too wide. We returned them and found cheaper and better quality sandals in the same store on sale which most importantly fitted nicely. The difference in price was credited against new shorts for my son.
4) I downloaded kids and adults BBC shows to my phone rather than purchase DVDs for the flights and rainy days before we left the UK. It took me 10 minutes and has been quite useful already.
5) We brought books from home (that we already owned) for my in laws as a small thank you for lending us their small house and second car while we visit. They are a great example in frugality and don’t mind second hand gifts one bit!
Do you perhaps have a link to the pattern for the apron? It looks lovely! I am making aprons for friends who helped me after surgery and that one looks rather unique.
Sure! It's this one: https://amzn.to/2Kj3g8e
Let's see what I can remember from this week.
1) Clipped online coupons, paper coupons, and strategically shopped the 5x sales event at Kroger. Saved a lot on what we already would be buying & stored up extras in panty/freezer.
2) My daughter needed a new swim suit & I found her a clearance one in her size for $7, after much searching.
3) I needed just a few school supplies, including flash cards. The beauty of homeschool this time of year. Instead of shopping the front area of the store with all the supplies where I found them for 97 cents, I went to the office section & found a higher quality set for only 78 cents. Little win!
4) My husband is looking for a job, and the process of finding one has been slow. In the meantime, we're both picking up part time jobs to try & stay out of any future debt.
5) We've been doing simple summer living. No big trips/extra spending the last 2 months, but instead lot of trips to the parks, walks, picnics, reading, cooking from scratch, swimming, etc.
Last week was easy to figure out the frugal five.. This week will be a stretch! Ok, lemme think...
1) Got a free sub sandwich, drink & chips w/ voucher at Jersey Mike's. Savings- $10
2) Had a gift card for ebay so I did some Christmas shopping (he is tough to buy for and I'm always up for getting things early in the year) and got a headphone set and cord for youngest child. Savings- $40
3) Someone posted a scrumptious picture of blueberry muffins and I had to make them. I only had cranberries but they were oh, so good. Savings- $5
4) Had to get some interior doors and ordered from Amazon. I was sent the wrong size ! Ugh. So, I called the third party seller and they're shipping a replacement for free. I don't even have to return it! I'll try to sell it on CL.
5) Used Swagbucks to get Target gift cards and purchased some food and cleaning items. Savings- $20